Aullwood Audubon Announces February 2023 Calendar of Activities

February 1 – February 28 – “The Troll That Hatched an Egg by Thomas Dambo” Exhibit, (Farm & Center)

February 1, 15 – Chipmunk Adventures for Preschool Children, “Valentines for the Animals”, 10:00 a.m. -11:45 a.m., (Farm Pavilion)
February 2, 3, 16, 17 – Project FeederWatch (everyone), 9:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. (Center)

February 2, 9, 16, 23 - Adult Member Discovery Walks (members only), 8:00 – 9:30 a.m. (Center)

February 7, 14, 21, 28– Birding the Farm (everyone), 2:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. (Farm)

February 12 – March 12 – Aullwood Rent-A-Bucket Activities & Fundraiser (Farm)

February 17 – Great Backyard Bird Count Activities at Aullwood, 9:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. (Center)

February 18 – “Whose Tracks Are These?”, 10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. (Farm)               

February 20 – Aullwood Closed for President’s Day (Farm & Center)

February 25, 26 – Sugarbush Walk, 2:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. (Farm)

General admission is $12/adults 13 to 64, $10 Seniors 65+ and Active Duty Military, $8/children 4 to 12 and children 3 and under FREE unless otherwise noted with an asterisk (*). Members of Friends of Aullwood, National Audubon Society and ANCA are admitted free.  Please note that

Aullwood walks are weather dependent and are cancelled if there is thunder, lightning or heavy rain. Access to Aullwood and Aullwood trails is at both the Center and Farm Tuesday - Sunday.

Aullwood Center programs begin at 1000 Aullwood Road. Aullwood Farm Programs begin at 9101 Frederick Pike. Call 937-890-7360 for information. Check our events calendar: www.aullwood.org.

February may start out cold and dark, but by month’s end, signs of spring begin to emerge. Days are getting longer and warmer and tree sap begins to rise. It’s maple syrup time! Birds know this too, and the horizontal lines drilled by Yellowbellied sapsuckers on sugar maple trees are evident throughout the Sugarbush. Many birds begin to sing, including the Sugarbird, or Tufted titmouse, whose “Peter, peter, peter,” can be heard throughout the woodlands. This month can be the coldest and hardest on animals and plants. Many are hibernating or have gone dormant until spring. Birds are still active and many different species come together in winter flocks that move through the nature sanctuary. These birds can be observed from our warm and cozy Birdwatching Room at the Nature Center. Snowfall turns woodland and prairie into enchanted places; try exploring the trails in farm pastures on your cross-country skis or snowshoes.

Aullwood has a variety of pasture raised meats and as well as farm fresh eggs for all of your cooking! Our pork products include pork chops, smoked ham, and bacon. We have recently added frozen whole cut chickens! We also have chicken, duck and quail eggs for sale! You can find whole milk and chocolate milk from Fresh Start Dairy. It is always free admission to shop in the Nature Store. Make purchases with credit card, check or cash.

Important Information and Guidelines for Programs:

Aullwood is following the recommendations from government officials, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Ohio Department of Health and the National Audubon Society. Guidelines are subject to change as State mandates change.

Programs begin promptly at their scheduled start time, are weather dependent and are cancelled if there is thunder, lightning or heavy rain. Participants will be contacted via email should a program be cancelled.

- If you or someone in your household is sick, stay home. Do not visit Aullwood if you have a fever, persistent cough or shortness of breath, have the symptoms of COVID-19 or were exposed to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 within the past 14 days.

 - We recommend you wash your hands or use hand sanitizer before and after your visit.

We are performing a professional daily deep cleaning of our facilities and frequent cleaning of high-touch areas.  Single use masks for adults and children are available for free. We have installed touchless faucets, soap dispensers and paper towel dispensers in the restrooms. Hand sanitizer stations are available throughout the site.

The Troll That Hatched an Egg Exhibit (Members and Non-Members)

Aullwood Audubon is proud to host “The Troll That Hatched an Egg”, an exhibit from the internationally renowned recycle artist Thomas Dambo! Bo, Bodil, Bibbi and their troll-sized bird nest have come to life at Aullwood and are ready for your visit. Learn more and plan your trip at https://aullwood.audubon.org/trolls now. Aullwood is open rain or shine. General admission tickets are non-refundable and non-exchangeable. We recommend that you carefully plan your visit to allow for adequate time to explore our property and the Troll That Hatched an Egg exhibit. You can read more about Thomas Dambo at www.thomasdambo.com. (Farm & Center)

Chipmunk Adventures Classes

Chipmunk Adventures Classes for Preschool children ages 2-5 accompanied by an adult. Discover and share the excitement of nature with us at Aullwood Audubon. Visit farm animals, hike in the woods, crunch in the leaves, or walk in the creek. We’ll do hands-on activities, nature art, stories, and songs together at each session. Classes are conducted outside under the Farm Pavilion unless weather conditions dictate otherwise. Then we begin inside, but our hikes are outside. Dress for the weather conditions. Come and explore the wonder of winter with us!

Themes and Class Dates are:

Valentines for the Animals – Wednesdays, February 1 & 15, 10:00 a.m.-11:45 a.m

Celebrate Ag (Agriculture) Day! - Wednesdays, March 8 & 22, 10:00 a.m.-11:45 a.m.

Fee: Members $25.00/Non-members $30.00. Maximum of 8 child/adult pairs. We require a minimum of 4 child/adult pairs to hold this program. For more information call Beverly Holland at 937-890-7360, ext. 206 or email [email protected]. Visit our Chipmunk Adventures webpage at https://aullwood.audubon.org/ChipmunkAdventures to sign up. (Farm)

Project Feeder Watch (Everyone)

You're invited to join us for the 2023 Project FeederWatch season! Project FeederWatch is a winter-long survey of birds seen at feeders, coordinated by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Birds Canada. Data from Project FeederWatch helps scientists track broad-scale movements of winter bird populations and long-term trends in bird distribution and abundance. FeederWatch results are regularly published in scientific journals and are shared with ornithologists and bird lovers nationwide. People count birds in their own backyards, or you can help Aullwood by

counting birds at our feeders! Anyone interested in birds can participate and is invited to join us at the Marie S. Aull Education Center at 1000 Aullwood Road from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. on the following Thursday and Friday dates for a relaxing morning of counting birds.

February 2 & 3, 2023 and February 16 & 17, 2023
March 2 & 3, 2023 and March 16 & 17, 2023, March 30 & 31, 2023

Aullwood's FeederWatch is free and no preregistration is required. You’ll stay warm and cozy inside while watching, identifying, and counting birds, and people of all birding skill levels and backgrounds are welcome, including children, families, individuals, retired persons, and those with accessibility issues. This important community science project is made possible through the amazing leadership of Gary & Carolyn Harpel and Chris Birch. We encourage you to sign up for Cornell Lab's Project FeederWatch and officially record your data for scientific research. Turn your love of feeding birds into important research information by contributing scientific data to important bird studies! Visit https://feederwatch.org to learn more. Need help identifying the

birds who visit your yard? Here are some helpful resources:

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/news/
https://www.audubon.org/birding/identifying-birds
https://ebird.org/home

Please contact Aullwood Environmental Educator Sam Romeo at [email protected] if you have additional questions about Aullwood's Project FeederWatch. Thank you! (Center)

Adult Member Discovery Walks (Members Only)

February 2, 9, 16, 23 – 8:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. Bring your binoculars and delight in a weekly walk along Aullwood’s trails spotting birds and exploring the seasonal changes taking place at Aullwood.

These walks are for Aullwood and National Audubon Society members only. Binoculars recommended. Please be ready and waiting on the main sidewalk of the Nature Center at least 5 minutes before the scheduled start of the walk. Adult Discovery Walks are a benefit for members and there is no cost to attend. (Center)

Birding the Farm (Everyone)

Tuesdays, February 7, 14, 21, and 28, 2:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.  Join Environmental Educator Sam Romeo on a weekly afternoon bird walk at Aullwood Farm, 9101 Frederick Pike. A variety of birds can be found on the trails and in the pastures and habitats at the Farm. In winter we see flocks of White-throated sparrows, Juncos and Eastern bluebirds along the brushy fence rows. You might even spy a Great horned owl in the Sugarbush! We will meet in front of the Farm Discovery Center. Binoculars are recommended. Free for members of Aullwood and NAS/ANCA with membership card; non-members may register and pay our general admission prices to participate. Please register online at http://store.aullwood.org. If you need additional assistance or have any questions, please call 937-890-7360. (Farm)  

Rent-a-Bucket (Everyone)

Fill out your application at Aullwood for Rent-A-Bucket and get your name on a maple sap bucket which is held from February 12 – March 12! For a donation of $35, ($15 tax deductible), you can have your name on one of our sap buckets on maple trees at Aullwood Farm! In recognition of your support, you will receive a half-pint of Ohio maple syrup ready for pickup at the annual Pancake Brunch on Sunday, March 5^th! Your maple syrup can be mailed for an additional $8 for postage. Reserve your bucket online at this link: https://aullwood.audubon.org/RentABucket

Great Backyard Bird Count

Join us on Friday, February 17 from 9:30-11:30 a.m. for a joint Project FeederWatch and Great Backyard Bird Count Day! Registration is not required and participation is free! The Great Backyard Bird Count is when people around the world come together to observe, count and record birds seen during February 17–20, 2023. Sponsored by Cornell Lab of Ornithology, National Audubon Society and Birds Canada, the Great Backyard Bird Count uses eBird, one of the world’s largest nature databases, to track and count birds during this four-day community science event. You can watch observations roll in from around the world, and these observations help scientists better understand global bird populations before one of their annual migrations. Spend time in your favorite outdoor places watching and counting as many birds as you can find and then reporting them on eBird for this special 4-day global event! You can count birds visiting the feeders as well as any you see on a hike on our trails. Or, you can count birds anywhere you’d like anytime during this timeframe. (Center)

Whose Tracks are These? (Everyone)

Saturday, February 18: 10:00-11:30 a.m. Join us for a fun exploration walk - “Whose Tracks are These?”. Who leaves tracks shaped like a “Y”? And, who makes a “W” with their footprints? Solve nature’s mysteries by learning basic animal track identification skills with Environmental Educator

Sam Romeo. Dress to be outside and get ready to learn and have fun during this interactive program. Free for members of Aullwood and NAS/ANCA with membership card; non-members may register and pay our general admission prices to participate. Meet inside the lobby of the Farm Discovery Center. Visit http://store.aullwood.org to sign up. (Farm)

Sugarbush Walk (Everyone)

Saturday February 25 and Sunday, February 26 at 2:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.  The sap begins to move in the sugar maple trees as the length of each day increases. Discover how trees make their own food, how to identify trees in winter, and how maple syrup is made. Learn what birds and other

creatures live in the sugarbush and who else besides humans enjoy sweet sap from the trees. You may also get to taste some real maple syrup! You must preregister for this walk; the number of participants for each date is limited. Visit http://store.aullwood.org to sign up. This event is free for members of Friends of Aullwood, National Audubon Society and ANCA affiliated organizations with membership card or receipt. Non-members attending pay regular Aullwood admission, free for children 3 and under, $8.00 for children 4 to 12, $12.00 for adults 13 to 64, and $10.00 for seniors age 65 and over and active duty military members. For information on becoming a members, visit 

https://aullwood.audubon.org/membership, stop by our front desk during regular business hours, or call us at 937-890-7360. (Farm)

Volunteer & Support Aullwood (Everyone)

To volunteer at Aullwood please contact Nenita Lapitan, Manager of Volunteer and Rental Services at 937-890-7360, x214 or email at [email protected]. Become a member of Aullwood now! Visit https://aullwood.audubon.org/membership  for information. If you have any questions, email [email protected]. Make a tax-deductible gift at https://aullwood.audubon.org/donate to support Aullwood’s mission of conservation and education.